


You're on My List!

by karrenia_rune



Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Genre: Gen, Original Player Characters, Saturnalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 15:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7058857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/pseuds/karrenia_rune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A scheme Ares had planned to make his half-brother look foolish but not actually kill him, because of the dammed intervention of their mother Hera; goes awry, in more than ways than he had ever intended. This plan will occur on the longest night of the year when Hercules is off-guard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're on My List!

Disclaimer: Hercules belongs to its producers and creators. It is not mine nor are the characters  
who appear here or mentioned. The villagers and travelling performers are my own creation.  
Written for Round 19 of Small Fandoms Fest.

 

"You're on My List" by Karrenia

 

The weather had turned for good thought Ioalus as he let rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and stepped the palms of his hands in front on his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled causing tiny puffs of white vapor to peep out from behind them.

He'd been chopping wood for a good two hours now and had a large pile to show for his efforts. They'd been staying at farm-stead for the winter season and he and Hercules figured that they could do some work around the place, help out in exchange for the couple's hospitality.

Ialous was perfectly with that since the prevailing notion among most of the nations and tribes in the area seemed to agree, when they actually agreed on anything, that is; that waging war or another armed conflict in the winter was a bad idea. 

For one thing, sailing in the winter cause the sails to ice up, the ships' timbers to creak alarmingly if they got them out on the seas at all. And if was over-land, marching in the winter took a toll on the troops, horses and it was damned hard to find supplies along the way to wherever the current conflict happened to be taking place.

Hercules came out to the yard from where he had been grooming the farm horses in preparatory to bringing them in from the paddock where they'd been grazing, saying, "Good job, Iolaus, let me help with that firewood. Siemon says that he can feel the chill right through his bones or somewhat like that, we could use the warmth."

"Sure, hey, Herc, do you one of my all-time favorite winter holidays are coming up," said Iolaus as he hefted a load of the firewood and his big friend did the same

Hercules nodded, "I was wondering when you'd bring that up. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. I feel bad for the board we netted the other week but my the mistress of the household tells me it will make a fine crowning glory to the evening feast."

"You've been holding out on me, Herc," griped Iolaus mock-severely. That trade that we encountered on the road here...

The one that came from Rome via Tyre?"

"Yeah, said it was a big deal there, costumes, and drinking and feasting; I wonder why it hasn't caught on more here than it has."

"Truth to tell, my friend," Hercules replied. "I have no idea."

**  
Elsewhere a tall strong well-built individual clad in dark leathers and ankle-length boots was admiring his reflection in several well-cared for shields lining the wall of his private chambers. Being functionally immortal Ares thought did marvelous things for one's complexion not to mention the long lustrous raven-haired locks.

It was with a visceral shiver as a cold sensation caught him up and he turned around to look around him. With the speed of thought, Ares realized that the sensation of disquiet had no come from within but rather than without. With a snap of his fingers and shrug of muscular shoulders, Ares commanded, "All right, show yourself. I know you're there, so there's really no use keeping up the pretense.

A shimmer in the ear, as if the space that had been empty only moments before had been pushed and pulled aside and suddenly another leather-clad figure, this one female, suddenly appeared. 

"Discord, a pleasure, as always. What brings you around?"

"Ares, do I need a reason to see my big brother."

"Don't bring up 'family, ours is not what one would call as being on cordial terms with one another."

"I know, I know," she replied languidly and seemingly without realizing that she had absently let one hand drop to down to the tight lacings of her leather chain-mail and the frilly blouse that she wore underneath it.

If Ares noticed this he feigned to pretend not to. Discord and he had an unspoken relationship and he was never got sure how he felt about it. She liked to dally, and he sometimes had a wandering eye, but they understood other on some other level as well.

"What do you want?" he asked instead.

"Why, go to that mirror thingie and you'll see."

"You know I only use that when I...

"When you are feeling incredibly nasty or vengeful or inspired or all of the above, especially as concerns a certain...

"My damned half-brother. He's on my list!

"It's a very selective list, and he's high up on it."

They went over to the mirror and watched Hercules and his friend discuss plans for celebrating Saturnalia. 

At that moment Ares felt the wheels within wheels in his head turn and said, you're right this is an opportune chance that we can't afford to miss."

"You do remember, honey, that because of Hera we cannot outright kill Hercules.." she trailed off meaningfully.

"We can have some other agency to do the dirty work for us, and no one will suspect a thing. It's perfect, but how to go about it?"

"It was my idea, I should be helping you."

"No, no, I thank for laying the groundwork, but I want to do this myself. Revenge, as I've heard it said, is always dish served cold."

"So, I've heard," Discord muttered under her breath and disappeared. "Damn prideful fool; she added as an afterthought, "Mark my words, it's gonna trip you up something fierce one of these days. Let me be there to witness when it does."  
****  
Preparations for the celebration had been in full swing for the three days letting up to the 17th of the month and three days that were to follow, the last to be observed by just the family and their immediate circle of friends.

Both Hercules and his friend were kept busy but Hercules was in high spirits and so was Iolaus. 

His friend didn't even seem to mind the fact that he'd been recruited by the neighborhood women to help speed up the constructing of the costumes that the men, women and village children were to were the second night of the holiday.

The feast was one that all and sundry would remember for a long time to come and Hercules complimented Simeon and his wife Thea on a marvelous job.

Thea blushed, Simeon demurred, saying it was their honor and to think nothing more on it; this went on some little while, and eventually, belly full, a tad drink from beer and wine, and groggy, let the matter go.

Later in the evening it was time for the dancing, juggling, and costume-donning. There was even one troupe of traveling performers who came with a wagon train and put on puppet performance. Following shortly on the heels of that act, another group of performers clambered onto the newly-built stage and began what they called a pantomime; whatever that was.

 

Hercules, was enjoying himself, allowing himself to relax for the first in so long that he could not recall just how long it had been when he had felt that way. 

Just then it was hard to follow and he turned to Iolaus who had seen something like this b before. It went on for some little while and they were nuances and that he failed to catch, but it did not diminish the capering, clowning and smiles that their act garnered from the audience.

Just then, when it seemed as everything was going smoothly Hercules felt the kind of vague prickling at the back of the fine blond hairs at his neck, which could only mean one thing, trouble.

What the source of the trouble was, he had not yet determined, 

It was only when the actors who had been performing the pantomime suddenly turned pretense into deadly intent. They whipped out a variety of blades, some long, some short, some with serrated edges, none seem to match the others and rushed towards him en masse. What they lacked in style they made up for in numbers. 

Hercules sighed, why did they have to spoil his otherwise idyllic holiday, oh well, he sighed and brought Ioalous' attention to the immediate threat. His friend, seeming to read the other's mind. 

Shall we relieve them of that dangerous silverware.?"

"You couldn't come up with anything else?"

"You got a better idea?" Hercules replied.

"No, not really, and let's do before they cause a panic," Iolaus agreed.

Standing back to back the two of them rapidly dispensed with the masked attackers, and when they were all subdued and their masks removed, they look incredibly less threatening than when the masks were on.

, In fact, they actually appeared bewildered by the events that had transpired.

"Okay, some here has to be the leader, so speak up," Hercules ordered.

All of them nodded in the negative. 

"So why did you attack us?"

"Because they made us," one of them offered half-heartedly.

"They?" 

"Yeah, a chick and guy about your height wearing leather armor. We're really not bad guys, we never intended to let things get this far. We're entertainers, traveling performers not ah, fighters."

"Yeah, I get that," Iolaus replied. Turning to his friend and walking out ear-shot of the bemused performers and curious on-lookers, "Want three guesses who the guy in leather armor was and the chick with him was?"

"Ares and Discord," Hercules muttered.

"Got it in one,"Iolaus replied. "Merry Saturnalia, Herc, Got to say it got off with a bang!"

"Merry Saturnalia, to you, too, my friend. I don't anyone here will ever forget it."


End file.
